A field guide to buildings in our Nation's capital

Washington, D.C., has many buildings of historic and cultural significance, and many of them are made of
marble and limestone. This self-guided tour will point out damage to buildings and monuments in our
Nation's capital that may have been caused by acid precipitation. Similar effects may be found in other
cities as well.

Places to visit have been divided into several areas, so the trip can be done either in segments or all in one
day. A suggested tour route is described within each area. A car provides the most efficient transport
between areas, but parking may be hard to find. The Metro subway system can easily be used to visit all
areas except the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. The closest Metro stations in each area are shown on
the map. You will need comfortable walking shoes, and you may want to bring along a camera, a hand lens
(about 10x magnification) for observing details of minerals and weathering, and a pair of binoculars for
closer examination of inaccessible areas.